From Child's Play to the Alienware M11x - News Roundup 9th January 2010

In today’s news roundup, charitable donations made by gamers go on to smash all prior estimates and established records. Gaming industry experts predict Halo: Reach will be the top selling title of 2010. And lastly, we have a look at some cool new gadgetry from the Consumer Electronics Show.

Child's Play Breaks Record, Raises 1.7 Million

When it comes to their portrayal by the media, gamers get a pretty raw deal. Because if it’s not stories involving video-game-inspired acts of brutality – like kids turning into cannibals after playing Pacman – then it’s tales of extreme video game addiction, with children hooked on WOW like it’s some virtual crack pipe and being forced into rehab. But in a piece of news which actually shows the decent side of video game lovers and proves that we’re not all homicidal-junkies, Child’s Play recently announced a record breaking number of charitable donations from the gaming community.

This has astounded charity organisers and journalists alike as most predicated a fall in the number of contributions as a result of the ongoing recession. However, with a grand total of almost $1.8 million (which smashed last year’s sum of $1.432 million), 2009 has been the most successful year for Child's Play ever, and despite the media’s scepticism, shows that the generosity of gamers only continues to gain momentum. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Fox News! [1UP]

Halo: Reach to be 2010's biggest seller?

Top bods from the gaming industry have been busy expressing their opinions for the annual GamesIndistry.Biz Network survey. Given the sheer number of high profile video game titles due for release this year, they certainly had a lot to mull over when trying to decide which game would be the most successful. It turned out that Halo: Reach was the title which most industry pros feel will be the biggest seller of 2010. Final Fantasy XIII came second whilst the number one spot for 2010’s ‘Dark Horse’ went to Alan Wake.

The pros also predicted that music games, RPGs and first person shooters are all going to decline (even though they reckon they’ll gain the top spots in 2010) whilst causal games, MMOs, and action adventure titles will increase in popularity. [Eurogamer]

Alienware introduces teensy M11x gaming laptop

With the recession showing no chance of abating, jobs scarce, unemployment up and everyone skint after Christmas, what better time to head over to the Consumer Electronics Show and start eyeing up great gadgets at insane prices? One of the neatest little items recently on display has to be this M11x gaming laptop from Alienware. Although the M11x is small and features a diddy 11.6 inch screen, it’s certainly still got it where it counts. The laptop has an NVidia GT335M card and according to Joystiq is ‘capapble of running Crysis at 60 frames per second in 720p.’ Just a shame it will set you back somewhere in the region of $1000 dollars. [Joystiq]